A new website has been created for The Dictionary of Welsh Biography. It will be launched at the beginning of November 2018 and will include new content, functions and design. Head over to biography.wales now to see what's new!

This website will eventually be replaced by biography.wales. In the meantime, we would like to hear from our users so you're welcome to send us any questions or feedback that you may have.

GRIFFITH
OF
PENRHYN (Caerns.)
.

The family was perhaps the first in
North Wales
to emerge as the owners of a modern landed estate. They claimed descent from
Ednyfed Fychan
through his son
Tudur
. The conventional pedigrees attribute the acquisition of
Penrhyn
and
Cochwillan
(
see
Williams
of
Cochwillan
) to the marriage (
c.
1300-1310
) of
Griffith ap Heilyn ap Tudur ab Ednyfed Fychan
(d.
c.
1340
) to
Eva
, daughter and heiress of
Griffith ap Tudor ap Madog ap Iarddur
; her possessions are said to have formed part of the estates of
Iarddur
, supposed founder of one of the so-called ‘fifteen tribes’, who had received them as part of a grant to him of the commote of
Arllechwedd Uchaf
by
Llywelyn the Great
. No record evidence exists of such a grant. The surveys of
Anglesey
and
Caernarvon
of
1352
prove the existence of
Iarddur
, but provide no support for the story of the grant by
Llywelyn the Great
. The pedigrees appear to have oversimplified a complicated process and, in particular, they attribute the marriage with
Eva
to the wrong generation and over-emphasize its importance. (
Dwnn
,
Visitations
, ii, 130-1;
Thomas
, ‘
Genealogical Account of the Families of Penrhyn and Cochwillan
’ in
Williams
,
Observations on the Snowdon Mountains
(
1802
), 163-7;
Rec. Caern.
, 13).

The patrimony of
Tudur ab Ednyfed Fychan
undoubtedly lay in the
Four Cantrefs
, and record evidence supports the testimony of the pedigrees that his descendants, in the line whence came the families of
Griffith
of
Penrhyn
and
Williams
of
Cochwillan
, were settled at
Nant
, in
Englefield
, and
Llangynhafal
, in the
vale of Clwyd
. So far from being settled at
Penrhyn
early in the
14th cent.
, the ‘
Griffith
’ family continued to live in
north-east Wales
until the close of the century; but three marriage alliances during the century brought them substantial property in
Caernarvonshire
and
Anglesey
.

(1)
GWILYM AP
GRIFFITH AP
HEILYN
(third in descent from
Tudur ab Ednyfed
), who d.
c.
1370
, m. (
c
. 1340
)
Eva
, daughter of
Griffith ap Tudur ap Madog ap Iarddur
. Her father (d.
c.
1310
) and brother
Gwilym ap Griffith
of
Llaniestyn
, in
Anglesey
(d.
c.
1375
) were
landowners
of some note in
Englefield
and in various townships in
Anglesey
(
Twrgarw
,
Penwŷnllys
) and
Caernarvonshire
(
Bodfeio
). She was probably one of the co-heirs of her brother in ‘
Gafael Iarddur
’ in
Bodfeio
in
1352
, and it was almost certainly this marriage which brought
Cochwillan
to her husband's family, together with a share of her family's lands in
Anglesey
. By her brother's will, dated
1375
, her son,
Griffith ap Gwilym
(d.
1405
— see (2) below) inherited further lands in
Anglesey
and
Caernarvonshire
.

(2)
GRIFFITH AP
GWILYM
(d.
1405
) m. (
c
. 1360
)
Generys
, daughter and heiress of
Madog ap Goronwy Fychan
who was third in descent from
Ednyfed Fychan
through his son,
Goronwy
, ancestor of the
Tudor
s
(see under
Ednyfed Fychan
). She brought to her husband
lands at
Gwredog
in
Anglesey
, together with her share of the family lands at ‘
Gafael Goronwy ab Ednyfed
,’ in the township of
Cororion
in
Caernarvonshire
. ‘
Gafael Goronwy ab Ednyfed
’ was the nucleus of the
Penrhyn estate
and the whole
Gafael
corresponds roughly to the present
Penrhyn demesne
, or park. This marriage marks the first link between the
Griffith
family and
Penrhyn
, but
Griffith ap Gwilym
lived throughout his life in
north-east Wales
. With his brother
BLEDDYN
, he d. in
rebellion
with
Owain Glyndŵrbefore Oct. 1406
, but
Bleddyn
's descendants, together with those of
Griffith ap Gwilym
, through his youngest son,
Rhys
, continued to be represented in
Flintshire
and
Denbighshire
until the
16th cent.
The personal connection of the family with
Anglesey
and
Caernarvonshire
began with the eldest and second sons of
Griffith ap Gwilym
.

(3) The eldest son of
Griffith
and
Generys
,
GWILYM AP
GRIFFITH
(d.
1431
), m. (
c
. 1390
) his kinswoman,
Morfydd
, daughter of
Goronwy ap Tudur
(ob.
1382
) of
Penmynydd
(see under
Ednyfed Fychan
).
Gwilym
thereby gained a further share in ‘
Gafael Goronwy ab Ednyfed
’ (
Penrhyn
) as well as lands in
Anglesey
. In
1389
,
Gwilym
and his younger brother,
ROBIN AP
GRIFFITH
, were granted by their father his lands in
Caernarvonshire
and
Anglesey
and it was probably this step which led to their firm establishment in the area. Lands in
Bodfeio
were given to
Robin
, who was the ancestor of the family of
Williams
of
Cochwillan
.
Gwilym
was the real founder of the
Penrhyn
family, but his precise place of residence before
1400
is not known. His wife's dowry had strengthened his hold on ‘
Gafael Goronwy ab Ednyfed
’ (
Penrhyn
) but his main possessions were in the commotes of
Menai
and
Dindaethwy
in
Anglesey
. His wife's mother (
Myfanwy
) and brother (
Tudur ap Goronwy
) were alive in
1397
and might be expected to have lived at
Penmynydd
; nevertheless,
Gwilym ap Griffith
is described as ‘of
Penmynydd
’ in
1400
and
1403
, and his will, dated
1430
, was signed there. From
1391 to 1397
he
held various crown offices
in
Anglesey
, being
sheriff
in
1396-7
.

His wife's uncles (
Rhys
,
Gwilym
, and
Maredudd ap Tudur
) gave full support to their cousin,
Owain Glyndŵr
, and see under
Ednyfed Fychan
;
Gwilym
himself was more cautious, but he was forced by family and other circumstances to throw in his lot with the rebels about
1402
. (As has been said, his father and uncle died in
Glyndŵr
's service.) His brother,
Robin
of
Cochwillan
, was also in rebellion but abandoned
Glyndŵr
before
1408
, when he appears as a
crown official
in
Caernarvonshire
.
Gwilym
also made his peace with the
king
before
Nov. 1407
, when he was restored to his forfeited possessions and was granted, in addition, the lands of twenty-seven
Anglesey
adherents of
Glyndŵr
who had probably died in rebellion. By
1410
he had been granted the forfeited lands of his wife's uncles,
Rhys
and
Gwilym ap Tudur
, both of whom adhered to
Glyndŵr
to the last. His will, dated
1430
, also refers to lands which he had obtained from his
Tudor
kinsmen; his brother-in-law,
Tudur ap Goronwy
, appears to have d.
c.
1400
and his share of the
Tudor
possessions undoubtedly came into
Gwilym
's hands. In all,
Gwilym ap Griffith
appears to have succeeded, through his father's marriage, his own, and the effects of the
Glyndŵr rebellion
, in gaining control of most of the patrimony of the
Tudors
; not the least important of the probable consequences was the departure of
OwainTudor
to seek his fortunes at the court of
Henry
V
.

The date of death of
Gwilym
's first wife is not known. Some time after
1405
he m.
Joan
, daughter of
SirWilliamStanley
of
Hooton, Ches.
, thus beginning a long and profitable connexion with the rising star of that family. His son by his first wife inherited only his mother's property at
Penmynydd
, and he was the ancestor of the later
Theodores
of that place (see
Tudor
family, of
Penmynydd
).
Gwilym ap Griffith
d. in
1431
, leaving his great possessions in
Anglesey
and
Caernarvonshire
to his son by the second marriage. (
Penrhyn manuscripts
,
passim
;
Trans. Angl. Antiq. Soc.
,
1951
, 34-72;
J. R.Jones
, ‘
The development of the Penrhyn estate to 1431
’,
University of WalesM.A.
thesis, unpublished.)

From
1431 to 1531
the son, grandson, and great-grandson of
Gwilym ap Griffith
(each named
Gwilym
) held the estate and added to it. (During the
15th cent.
the surname ‘
Griffith
’ became established and ‘
Gwilym
’ became ‘
William
’ in non-
Welsh
records.) All three showed outstanding skill in steering a safe and profitable course through the dangerous waters of
15th cent.
politics; in particular, they allied themselves with prominent
English
houses, especially the pliant
Stanleys
— a process which began with the marriage of
Gwilym ap Griffith
to
JoanStanley
of
Hooton
. The son of that marriage,
GWILYM
FYCHAN
(
c.
1420
-
1483
), was under the tutelage of his
Stanley
kinsmen until he came of age (
Penrhyn MSS. 17-18
). In
1440
he received letters of denization, freeing him from the operation of the penal laws passed against
Welshmen
during the
Glyndŵr revolt
, on condition that he did not marry a
Welsh
-woman or hold office; the ban on holding office was raised in
1443
on the ground that his mother was a
Stanley
(
Cal. Pat. Rolls, 1436-41 (416), 1441-6 (164)
. He m.,
before 1447
,
Ales
, daughter and heiress of
SirRichardDalton
of
Apthorp, Northants.
; the marriage almost certainly reflects the
Stanley
connection, for
AlesDalton
was grand-daughter by her second marriage of
Isabel dePilkington
whose daughter by
Thomas deLathom
, her first husband, brought
Lathom
and
Knowsley
to the
Stanleys
. (
Dwnn
,
Visitations
, ii, 155;
Penrhyn MSS. 1-4, 7-9, 13
;
G.E.C.
,
Complete Peerage
, iv, 205 n. c.;
D.N.B.
, liv., 75.) He m. (2)
Gwenllian
, daughter of
Iorwerth ap David
;
ROBERT
, his eldest son by this marriage, was the ancestor of the family of
Griffith
of
Plasnewydd
,
Anglesey
, and
Llanfairis-gaer, Caerns.
;
EDMUND
, the second son,
founded the estate of
Carreg-lwyd
,
Anglesey
. See
Griffith
,
Pedigrees
, 47, 56, 57, and articles
Griffith
of
Carreg-lwyd
and
Griffith
,
George
,
1601
-
1666
. In
1451
he was
member of a commission appointed to examine the reasons why the revenues of Merioneth were in arrear
(
Cal. Pat. Rolls, 1446-52
, 480) and
between 1457 and 1463
he was
deputy to various chamberlains
of
North Wales
(
Davies
,
Conway and Menai Ferries
, 47;
P.R.O. Min. Acc., 1154/3, 1180/3
). He does not appear to have held the office of
chamberlain
. He was probably the
WilliamGriffith
who, as ‘
marshall
of the
King's Hall
,’ received grants from
Edward
IV
in
1462
and
1464
, and he served on a number of
North Wales
commissions during
Edward
's reign (
Cal. Pat. Rolls, 1461-7 (117, 293, 329), 1467-77 (54, 490), 1476-85 (121)
). He was d.
by 13 Sept. 1483
(
Penrhyn MSS. 38-9
). A number of contemporary
poets
sang his praises —
Cynwrig ap Dafydd Goch
,
Dafydd ab Edmwnd
,
Guto'r Glyn
,
Rhys Goch Eryri
, and
Robin Ddu
(
Mostyn MSS. 148, 493, 495, 498, 542
;
Llanst. MSS. 118, 78
;
Gwaith Dafydd ab Edmwnd
(ed.
T.Roberts
), 107;
Gwaith Guto'r Glyn
(ed.
J. Ll.Williams
and
I.Williams
), 52, 55;
Iolo Goch ac Eraill
(ed.
H.Lewis
,
T.Roberts
and
I.Williams
), 307;
H. T.Evans
,
Wales and the Wars of the Roses
, 14).

His son and heir by the first marriage,
WILLIAM
GRIFFITH
(
c.
1445
-
1505/6
), is not always easy to distinguish from his father. He m. (1)
JoanTroutbeck
, widow of
SirWilliamButler
of
Bewsey, Ches.
; her mother was
Margaret
, daughter of
SirThomasStanley
(
c.
1406
-
1459
),
first baron Stanley
;
WilliamGriffith
was therefore nephew by marriage to
Thomas
,
first earl of Derby
(
1435
-
1504
) — another confirmation of the
Stanley
connection (
Dwnn
,
Visitations
, ii, 167;
Penrhyn MSS. 12
;
D.N.B.
, liv., 76;
Ormerod
,
Cheshire
, ii, 42). In
1476
he is described as
‘king's servant’
and ‘
marshall
of the
King's Hall
’ (an office held by his father) in a grant to him by
Edward
IV
of an annuity of £18 5s.; the annuity was renewed by
Richard
III
in
March 1484
(
Cal. Pat. Rolls
,
1476-85
, 18, 418). At
Michaelmas 1483
he was appointed
chamberlain of North Wales
by
Richard
III
; the appointment was confirmed by
Henry
VII
within a month of
Bosworth
(
Davies
,
Conway and Menai Ferries
, 48;
Owen
,
Manuscripts rel. to Wales in the Brit. Mus.
, ii, 147;
Cal. Pat. Rolls
,
1485-94
, 5). His record suggests that he followed very closely the lead of his kinsman, the time-serving
earl of Derby
, and a poem by
Lewis Môn
proves that immediately before
Bosworth
he shared with
lord Strange
,
Derby
's heir, his perilous imprisonment at
Nottingham
as hostage for his father's all-too-uncertain loyalty; presumably, he shared, too, the same narrow escape from death on the eve of the battle.
Tudur Aled
also refers, more obscurely, to this crisis in
WilliamGriffith
's career. (
Gairdner
,
Richard III
, ed.
1898
, 227-38;
Mostyn MSS. 148, 467
;
Gwaith Tudur Aled
, ed.
T. GwynnJones
, i, 143.) His influential connections were not confined to the
Stanley
s
.

He appears to have m., as his second wife,
ElizabethGrey
, grand-daughter of
Reginald
,
3rd baron Grey of Ruthin
(the enemy of
Owain Glyndŵr
) and first cousin to
JohnGrey
,
lord Ferrers of Groby
(
1432
-
1461
) who was the first husband of
ElizabethWoodville
, later
queen
of
Edward
IV
. (
D.N.B.
, xxiii, 193, 197;
Williams
,
Observations on the Snowdon Mountains
,
1802
, 174.) The marriage must have brought him into personal contact with the powerful
Greys
and
Woodvilles
and it would explain the presence of a
WilliamGriffith
as member of
Edward
IV
's council on
8 Aug. 1482
. (
Gairdner
, op. cit., 338-9.)

Under
Henry
VII
he continued to hold the
chamberlainship of North Wales
until
1490
when he was replaced by
SirRichardPole
(
Davies
,
Conway and Menai Ferries
, 48, 68.) He was
knighted
when
Arthur
was created
prince of Wales
in
1489
and he continued to serve on a number of
North Wales
commissions. (
Cal. Pat. Rolls, 1485-94
, 86, 354.) He d.
1505/6
. (
Penrhyn MSS. 44-5
.) Among
poets
who sang to him are
Tudur Penllyn
,
Dafydd Pennant
,
Dafydd Llwyd ap Llywelyn
,
Lewis Môn
, and
Tudur Aled
. (
Mostyn MSS. 148, 467, 504, 532, 535
;
Gwaith Tudur Aled
, ed.
T. GwynnJones
, i, 142.)

His son,
WILLIAM
GRIFFITH
(
c.
1480
-
1531
), does not appear in office until
1508
when he was described as ‘
King's Servant
’ and ‘
squire for the body
,’ and appointed
chamberlain of North Wales
; he continued to hold the office until his death, with the exception of a short break in
1509
when he made way for
CharlesBrandon
, later
duke of Suffolk
. (
Cal. Pat. Rolls
,
1494-1509
, 569;
Davies
,
Conway and Menai Ferries
, 57;
L. and P. Henry VIII
, vol. I, part i, 257, 78, and vol. IV, part i, 1941;
D.N.B.
, vi, 218.) There is some evidence of personal links between the two men. Both were
squires of the body
at the same time, and in
1516Brandon
appointed
Griffith
as one of his
deputy justices of North Wales
, describing him in the instrument of appointment as his ‘blood relation.’ (
Penrhyn MSS. 48
.)
Griffith
served under
Brandon
in the
French campaign
of
1513
; he was at the siege of
Thérouanne
, the
battle of the Spurs
, and the
siege of Tournai
in
Aug. 1513
, and was
knighted
at
Tournai25 Sept. 1513
. (
L. and P. Henry VIII
, vol. I, part i, 1176, 1496, part ii, 2301, 2480, 2575.) Poems by
Lewis Môn
,
Huw Llwyd ap Dafydd
,
Tudur Aled
, and
Gruffydd ap Tudur ap Hywel
refer to his part in the campaign. (
Mostyn MSS. 148, 233, 520, 523, 537, 585
;
Cardiff MSS. 2, 103
;
Gwaith Tudur Aled
, ed.
T. GwynnJones
, i, 146.) He appears also to have maintained close relationships with
SirRhys ap Thomas
of
Dynevor
. His first wife was
Jane
, daughter of
SirThomasStradling
of
S. Donats, Glam.
, and his wife,
Joan
, daughter of
ThomasMathew
of
Radyr, Glam.SirThomasStradling
d.,
1480
, and his widow m. shortly after
SirRhys ap Thomas
, as his second wife. Poems to
WilliamGriffith
by
Lewis Môn
emphasize the links between him and
SirRhys
, whose son,
Griffith ap Rhys
(b.
c.
1480
— see under
Rice
) was a contemporary of
WilliamGriffith
at Court. A
Griffith
of
Penrhyn
(almost certainly
WilliamGriffith
) was present at the tournament held by
SirRhys
at
Carew
in
1507
(see articles
Stradling
and
Mathew
;
Mostyn MSS. 148, 470, 581
;
Cambrian Register
,
1795
, 49-144). His second wife was
Jane
, daughter of
JohnPuleston
‘
Hen
’ (
the Old
)
of
Bersham
(
see article
Puleston
family
);
William
, his eldest son by this marriage, founded the family of
Griffith
of
Trefarthen
(
Griffith
,
Pedigrees
, 125, 185, and article
Griffith
,
John
,
16th cent.
). Apart from those named, the following poets wrote to him:
MathewBrwmffild
,
Dafydd Pennant
,
Ifan Dylyniwr
,
Dafydd Trefor
,
Ifan ap Madog
,
Lewis Daron
, and
Tudur Aled
. (
Mostyn MSS. 148, 529, 532, 556, 559, 562, 566, 569, 572, 575
;
Cynfeirdd Lleyn
, ed.
Myrddin Fardd
, 195;
Gwaith Tudur Aled
, ed.
T. GwynnJones
, i, 145.) He was one of three
squires
who were concerned with the
Caerwys eisteddfod
in
1523
. (
Llên Cymru
, ii, 130.)

His eldest son,
William
, d. young and he was succeeded by his second son,
EDWARD
GRIFFITH
, b.
18 May 1511
(
P.R.O. Min. Acc., 4948
), he was a correspondent of
ThomasCromwell
, mainly in connection with his feud with
RichardBulkeley
of
Beaumaris
(
see under
Bulkeley
family
); he paid
Cromwell
an annuity of ten marks for some years and attempted, unsuccessfully, to gain possession of the
Dominican friary
at
Bangor
after its dissolution. He was probably the
EdwardGriffith
who, as
yeoman of the guard
, was granted a water-mill in the lordship of
Denbigh
in
1537
. He was acting on a number of commissions in
North Wales
until
April of 1539
, but in Oct. of that year he was sent with
SirWilliamBrereton
(
D.N.B. Suppt.
, i, 264) to
Ireland
; his command (two
grand captains
, three
petty captains
, 250
archers
, three
priests
, and two
minstrels
) was equivalent to that of
Brereton
and he was a member of the
Irish privy council
. He d. of ‘the
flux
’ at
Dublin
11 March 1540
. He m.
Jane
, daughter of
SirJohnPuleston
of
Bersham
. (
L. and P. Henry VIII
, viii, 122, 644, 925, xii, part i, 539 (14), 655, 1154, xiii, part i, 384 (91), 1289, xiv, part i, 732, 802, 803, 816, part ii, 40, 616, 759, 782, 1539; xv, 74, 82, 199, 327, 342, 355.) His death precipitated a long dispute between
RHYS
GRIFFITH
his younger brother, who claimed the estates as heir male, and
JohnPuleston
,
EdwardGriffith
's father-in-law, acting for his daughter and her three children (
Jane
,
Catherine
, and
Ellen
).
Puleston
asked
Cromwell
for the wardship of the children, and offered him £40 for his good offices;
RhysGriffith
complained that during his absence in
Ireland
‘on the
king's service
,’ his sister-in-law and her father had ransacked
Penrhyn
, leaving ‘nothing but the bare walls.’ The
lord chancellor
and the
master of the court of wards
made an arbitration in
1542
, but the problems involved were still unsettled in
1559
. Even after the death of
RhysGriffith
in
1580
,
SirEdwardBagnall
, who had m. one of
EdwardGriffith
's daughters, was still pursuing his wife's claims in the
court of wards
.
(
Penrhyn MSS. 50, 2197
;
N.L.W. Jnl.
, iii, 40;
Lewis
,
Early Chancery Procs.
, 21, 22, 288, 290;
Lewis
and
Davies
,
Augmentation Recs.
, 51;
L. and P. Henry VIII
, v, no. 724 (10), xv, 433, 661, xvii, 466, xix 812 (16), Addenda, i, part ii, 1462;
Cal. Pat. Rolls, Edward VI
, iv, 36;
Acts Privy Council, 1580-1
, 289;
P.R.O., Court of Requests Procs., bundle iv, no. 258; bundle vi, no 210
.)

Poems by
WilliamCynwal
and
Siôn Brwynog
refer to the prowess of
RhysGriffith
(d.
1580
) in the
Irish wars
, while
Siôn Tudur
implies that he had spent much of his earlier life in
London
. (
Mostyn MSS. 1, 159
;
Llên Cymru
, ii, 88-9.) He m. (1)
c.
1526
,
Margaret
, daughter of
Morris ap John
of
Clenennau
(see under
Maurice
and
Owen
of
Clenennau
); by this marriage there were five sons and two daughters. (2)
c.
1551
,
Jane
, daughter of
Dafydd ap William ap Griffith
of
Cochwillan
. (3)
c.
1566
,
Catherine
, daughter of
PiersMostyn
of
Talacre
(see under
Mostyn
of
Talacre
); by this marriage there were two sons,
Piers
and
William
(
Griffith
,
Pedigrees
, 185 is inaccurate on these marriages; for the second marriage, see
Penrhyn MSS. 58-61
.) He was
knighted
at the coronation of
Edward
VI
(
1547
) and on the accession of
Mary
was recommended by
NicholasHeath
,
archbishop of York
and
president of Wales
, as a suitable
member of parliament
for
Caernarvonshire
. He was not elected, but was
Member of Parliament
for the borough of
Caernarvon
in
1555
and
high sheriff
of
Caernarvonshire
in
1566-7
. (
Cal. Wynn Papers
, 19;
Williams
,
Parl. Hist. Wales
, 65;
Breeze
,
Kalendars
, 52.) He d.
30 July 1580
(
Penrhyn MSS: 78-82
) and was succeeded by
PirsGriffith
, his eldest son by the third marriage. During his lifetime the estate passed by purchase into the possession of
JohnWilliams
(
1582
-
1650
)
of the kindred house of
Williams
of
Cochwillan
(
see
Williams
family of
Cochwillan
).